| Pages: [1] :: one page |
|
|
| Author |
Thread Statistics | Show CCP posts - 0 post(s) |
Avyendha
   |
Posted - 2006.11.08 09:55:00 -
[1]
Hi there, so i am really the newby, 3 or 4 days old.
I managed to buy a Merlin, get 2 Missile Launchers and 2 Railguns on it. Ammo I use Lead and Sabretooths.
Now my problem. the 2nd mission I got is to go kill some rogue drones. well, should be no problem, i thought, and lost the ship.
how do I have to fight vs. 10+ drones at once? they maw through my armor in seconds and i only managed to kill 3 or 4 of them.
heres how I do combat. no need to tell me this totally sucks but atm i have no clue how else to do it.
* Warp in
* Close in to the nearest enemy
* Lock
* orbit 10km
* at 15km fire sabretooth, and activate railguns.
* while the drone gets torn apart lock next target.
i think the biggest fault is that I have no time after the 2nd drone to initiate any orbit command because the drones die too fast and i can't keep up with locking and fireing.
any suggestions other than go back play Lego?
regards
Avy
|
Vir Hellnamin
Minmatar
Gradient
Namtz'aar k'in
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 10:03:00 -
[2]
Edited by: Vir Hellnamin on 08/11/2006 10:05:18
Edited by: Vir Hellnamin on 08/11/2006 10:04:29
Edited by: Vir Hellnamin on 08/11/2006 10:03:33
Hi.
I'm not familiar with Merlin, but drones them I know a bit.
Have you tried to put AB on your ship and try to run away from the drones? some of them are known to be quite slow and their damage potential drops at longer distances.
Also if they chase you, you can still hit them with missiles since their effective flight distance grows when the targets are running towards you.
Also Merlin can lock up to 4 targets at a time. See the full ship specs here.
A last but the worst question, but... why don't you just get Kestrel and go all out missiles? It's the easiest in mission running - to be honest and all-out-minmatar pod-pilot.
(Sorry, did not read your time in space correctly, forget the kestrel suggestion)
Lastly, don't go back to Legos - what ever they are ;) - , get back in any ship and to space.
--
V.H. |
Avyendha
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 10:09:00 -
[3]
Why forget the Kestrel suggestion? Looks like I can fly it with my current skills and I have to buy a new ship anyway...
I thought the Merlin to be more versatile but well, I better start playing with something easier to play with.
Thx for your answer
|
Vir Hellnamin
Minmatar
Gradient
Namtz'aar k'in
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 10:12:00 -
[4]
Edited by: Vir Hellnamin on 08/11/2006 10:14:06
Ahh.. sorry just thought you were tight on isks.
Kessy is dead simple, and gives nice damage boost towards thermal damage which drones don't tank well.
It's good to try different setups as well, to get more skills in real piloting experience.
--
V.H. |
Avyendha
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 10:14:00 -
[5]
I am, but 500k (all in all) are mined very fast. I usually use my money the isntant i have it :)
|
Vir Hellnamin
Minmatar
Gradient
Namtz'aar k'in
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 10:15:00 -
[6]
Edited by: Vir Hellnamin on 08/11/2006 10:16:07
I have the same problem of spending money on ships, unfortunately I have lost the relative sizes we use nowadays.
(updated the early mission tactics a bit there on second post.)
--
V.H. |
Prant
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 10:45:00 -
[7]
You do not say anything about the rest of your setup on that ship, I am guessing that the problem is there. You are not resisting/handling the damage they are doing to you is my guess.
Why dont you post your full setup (whats in your mids and lows?) or go to the ships section of the forum and see what people recommend?
|
Avyendha
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 10:52:00 -
[8]
High:
2x Standard Missle Launcher I
2x 125mm Railgun I
Mid:
1x 1MN Afterburner I
1x Small Shield Booster I(2 empty Mid-Slots)
Low:2x Power Diagnostic System II
this I dug out of the ship and equip section. should be the "I win" setup for lvl1 mission. but i have still not the experience to handle them with this thingy.
|
Vir Hellnamin
Minmatar
Gradient
Namtz'aar k'in
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 10:56:00 -
[9]
Edited by: Vir Hellnamin on 08/11/2006 10:56:25
If you want to add more stuff to mid-slots, check you the Micro Auxiliary Power Core. Switch one PDU-II (that is PDS-II) to MAPC. Two more mids could be shield extenders...
Btw, doesn't PDU-II cost a little bit too much for Tech 1 frigate setup... not worth the bonuses really...
--
V.H. |
Sahjahn
Caldari
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 10:57:00 -
[10]
Merlin :
Caldari therefore SHIELDS SHIELDS SHIELDS. Fit, Sheild Booster, Small Shield Extender, Kinetic passive resist, Thermal passive resist in the medium slots. In low slots fit what you can but aim for 2x power diagnostics, this'll boost ya shields as well. High slots is fine, but for fitment purposes go for Malkuh Missile launchers, and 150mm carbide Railguns.
This is for PvE only, you'd be spanked silly in PvP.
I am also assuming you are fighting the usual caldari local rats, guristas, blood raiders etc. From what i can remember these cause thermal and kinetic damage (hence the tanking against kinetic and thermal). They also have weakest resist on these damage types. So scrap your sabretooth (bloody useless against them) and fit 1 missile launcher with Bloodclaws, and the other with Flameburst.
Fit antimatter charges to your railguns.
Basicaly just work on your sheilds so ya can sit in the middle and just pop off the drones as they fly around. They are quicker than you so don't bother trying to out fly them. Don't bother with an AB either as that it just removing a tanking slot.
My merlin has a shield HP of about 677 which is plenty with the resists to just sit in the middle of a nest of drones and pick em off one by one.
If ya wanted you could fire at multiple targets. target one drone, click on 1 launcher and 1 railgun, immediately target another and click on the other launcher and other railgun.
Drones aren't strong so ya can probably get through them twice as fast.
|
|
|
Avyendha
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 11:02:00 -
[11]
Edited by: Avyendha on 08/11/2006 11:04:46
Being that new i totally lack comparison of different systems vs. prize. the mass of upgrades all implying different skill training with gazillions of parameters to differ is a bit much if you havent been in the game since start. I simply took the setup stating to be very good for what i wanted to do...and mined until i had everything.
Should have mined i bit more for the insurance...my Bantam is insured....
(and maybe I shouldn't have been so confident after the successfull completion of the first mission and put all the valuables into the hangar instead of leaving them in the cargo bay..... ;) )
|
Vir Hellnamin
Minmatar
Gradient
Namtz'aar k'in
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 11:02:00 -
[12]
Edited by: Vir Hellnamin on 08/11/2006 11:03:41
 Originally by: Sahjahn
If ya wanted you could fire at multiple targets. target one drone, click on 1 launcher and 1 railgun, immediately target another and click on the other launcher and other railgun.
Shooting multiple targets is not good idea.
It sounds nice, when thinking fast - and it is kinda cool to go shooting all directions in one gloryfying moment... , but problem is that if your tanking is on critical (losing more shields than gaining) it is better to get one target down faster and get the tank more positive (towards balance or get more shields than losing).
Usually when the initial aggro happens, your tank is on critical path (if not you can run the mission afk, thus time to get tougher missions). Thus shooting down one target might be (is) the primary thing.
Also, if the targets tank enough, and you split your damage dealing capability to multiple targets, they can tank efficiently longer time, thus it will take you even longer to kill them (break their tank).
In all, target multiple, shoot one down fast, shoot next down fast... target more on the way. I'd start from frigates then cruisers, BS last.
--
V.H. |
Vir Hellnamin
Minmatar
Gradient
Namtz'aar k'in
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 11:05:00 -
[13]
Edited by: Vir Hellnamin on 08/11/2006 11:05:21
(forget)
--
V.H. |
Avyendha
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 11:08:00 -
[14]
 Sure.
I was so bored with mining and warping through hundreds of sectors to get the cheapest parts for the shiny new ship....I just wanted to test the new toy. Well. At least I got enough isk from the first mission to insta buy a new Merlin.
I will try the shieldsshieldsshields setup today.
|
Vir Hellnamin
Minmatar
Gradient
Namtz'aar k'in
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 11:13:00 -
[15]
Before running into missions, check the intel gathered for the mission from EVEINFO (here). Helps out selecting the shield hardeners.
Drones are known to deal wide variety of damage, thus tanking maybe hard. Most common helpful hint is keep the distance from them (goes all the way to LVL4 drone missions).
--
V.H. |
Xzzi
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 11:14:00 -
[16]
Quote:
Shooting multiple targets is not good idea.
I'm a total newbie here, but I can vouch for this wisdom as a result of years of PvP experience in another game ;)
My advice would be to KEEP MOVING and use "keep at range" w/afterburners or warp to get away fast if you have to.
|
Sahjahn
Caldari
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 11:15:00 -
[17]
Quote:
It sounds nice, when thinking fast - and it is kinda cool to go shooting all directions in one gloryfying moment... , but problem is that if your tanking is on critical (losing more shields than gaining) it is better to get one target down faster and get the tank more positive (towards balance or get more shields than losing).
In context!! We're talking drones here, and with a decent tank on a merlin ya can sit in a nest of lvl 1 drones for hours with little damage.
Considering 1 missile destroys most of the drones in one hit there is no point firing both launchers at 1 drone, you're just throwing a missile away.
|
Vir Hellnamin
Minmatar
Gradient
Namtz'aar k'in
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 11:19:00 -
[18]
Originally by: Sahjahn
of lvl 1 drones
Sorry forgot again... when I was doing level 1's the dead-space pockets and drones weren't discovered yet - or their existence wasn't confirmed by CONCORD.
--
V.H. |
Xzzi
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 11:19:00 -
[19]
The drones I've been fighting have taken more than one missile and i'm only on level 1 missions too.
You should *lock* more than one, but only shoot at one at a time, then re-activate your guns as soon as your target dies (and re-lock another one!)
Splitting your fire is crazy and if your skills are anything like mine, you won't be able to hold that shield up for long enough to tank much...
|
Sahjahn
Caldari
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 11:23:00 -
[20]
some drones take more than one hit, the ones that look like curled up wasps, but with antimatter charges on the railguns and bloodclaws/flamebursts in the missile launcher you still don't need to fire more than 1 launcher and 1 railgun at them, they'll pretty quick and ya can use the other launcher and railgun to get rid of the annoying one shot wonders that fly around. They have a rapid rate of fire and you'll be surprised how quickly they'll bite away at a poor tank, but if ya split ya targets you'll get rid of em quicker.
|
|
|
Sahjahn
Caldari
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 11:24:00 -
[21]
As stated above i wouldn't recomend the mutliple target approach on normal rats (unless 1 missile = 1 dead ship), but we aren't talking normal rats here we're talking light drones.
|
Letouk Mernel
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 13:11:00 -
[22]
Also, in some missions, you'll just get too many enemies at once if you just approach the nearest, and sometimes your ship just can't handle that many. It may be possible to "pull" in the sense that you move away before they see you, then circle around so that your approach vector is closest to one group, but distant to all the rest, and then you shoot one once and wait for them to get closer to you (and more importantly, very far away, more than 20k, from their mates), so that when you turn around and orbit and fight them, you only come close to the group you're fighting.
|
o0TuNa0o
Caldari
House of Tempers
|
Posted - 2006.11.08 14:31:00 -
[23]
Most of the time (before you can easily tank all the levels damage), its best to warp in, do a 180, hit the thruster and head in the opposite direction. Keep shooting all the time. since most of the drones or ships are quite far away when you jump in, your increasing the time it takes for them to get to you. if you take too much damage, just warp out and repeat.
Down side to this is that the cans will be quite a distance away if you do it in the first go, but its better than dying....
enjoy
|
Cat Molina
|
Posted - 2006.11.09 03:45:00 -
[24]
I found the drones in the early missions were set to engage targets at 10km and under. I changed my loadout so I could engage them at 16-18km, and thus was able to stay out of their effective damage ranges. This method works well, but takes more time to wrap the combat up.
Once you've trained some more combat skills (a couple of weeks worth), you'll be able to jump smack in the middle of them and start pounding away on multiple targets. Then the biggest challenge is to lock targets quicker than they are destroyed. 
Remember: CTRL + Left Click locks target in space or on the Overview.
|
Lienzo
|
Posted - 2006.11.09 05:52:00 -
[25]
Edited by: Lienzo on 09/11/2006 05:52:39
The Merlin: is the most powerful all-out combat frigate of the Caldari. It is highly valued for its versatility in using both missiles and turrets, while its defenses are exceptionally strong for a Caldari vessel.
Special Ability: 5% bonus to shield resistances and 10% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret optimal range per skill level.
4/4/2 35MW/17CPU base
No drones, and 30km base targetting range.
Relatively large signature radius, and somewhat on the slow side.
The shield resists may be throwing you off on the real strength of this ship. While the resists are useful, the real advantage of both the ship's bonus and rails is the range. The Merlin is traditionally used for 'kiting,' or out-ranging the enemy.
To kite, try the following setup.
-Equip either iron or tungsten ammo, or whichever ammo gives optimals slightly within your targetting range.
Hi:
2x 150mm Railgun
2x Standard Launcher
Mid:
1x 1MN Afterburner (AB)
1x Sensor Booster
2x Tracking Computer
Low:
1x Micro Auxiliary Power Core (MAPC)
1x Magnetic Field Stabilizer (Magstab)*
*The quality of this will depend on 1)your fitting skills for cpu, or 2)how many first tier named mods you have fitted.
You should be able to target and damage targets out to 40km, which should provide a comfortable gap between the enemy, and your weakly defended ship. It is advised that you always keep a waypoint set for ease of warpout with the autopilot should things go awry. Always shoot the fastest things first as they are the most likely to web and scramble you.
If you enjoy the kiting setup, it is highly advised that you consider moving into destroyers or assault firgates if you do not immediately move to cruisers. The Moa is ok for npcing, but does not typically keep up with the Caracal in terms of survivability in typical missions. Rail platforms are going to be popular for alliance careers in about 2 months.
For a tanker setup, I recommend rockets and blasters, but it will not perform as well as other ships geared for tanking, or the Kestrel for that matter.
Hi:
2x Ion Blasters
2x Rocket Launchers
Mid:
1x 1MN AB
1x Medium Shield Extender
2x Small Shield Extender
(or 1x Heat Dissipation Field optional)
Lo:
1x MAPC
1x Power Diagnostic System (PDU)
This should give about 1400 shields. For passive recharge, it should average 10-11 points a second so long as your shield is between 33-66% integrity.
Thermal hardening is advised versus Guristas or Serpentis (or Caldari and Gallente navies if you swing that way). For drones, you may be able to maintain an Invulnerability Field.
|
Sakura Nihil
Tabula Rasa Systems
The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.11.09 06:40:00 -
[26]
Originally by: Avyendha
Low:2x Power Diagnostic System II
Am I the first person that noticed this in his setup  ? Hopefully that's just the recommended lowslots and not actually what you fit.
|
Avyendha
|
Posted - 2006.11.09 06:57:00 -
[27]
Originally by: Sakura Nihil
Originally by: Avyendha
Low:2x Power Diagnostic System II
Am I the first person that noticed this in his setup ? Hopefully that's just the recommended lowslots and not actually what you fit.
Jo, my bad. It's just PDS I that i have....had.....soon have again.
|
|
|
| |
|
| Pages: [1] :: one page |
| First page | Previous page | Next page | Last page |